Few things have brought consensus recently more than the revulsion over the allegations against comedian Bill Cosby, a Philadelphia native. Yet in a desire to distance itself from Cosby, the city may have crossed a First Amendment line when a well-known mural entitled “Father’s Day” that depicts Cosby was painted over. And even if the city did not run afoul of that constitutional protection, the artist of the mural may have had under the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990, 17 U.S.C. § 106A (VARA) rights too. Ultimately it will come down to whether the artist or artists object to the fact or the timing of the removal—an objection that would not necessarily be any endorsement or support of Cosby (or have anything at all to do with Cosby), but which might relate more to the right of expression.

Judge Robert Okun closed the first week of hearings yesterday on the proposed modifications to the Corcoran Gallery and the Corcoran Gallery of Art + Design in Washington, DC. The Corcoran’s trustees have petitioned the DC Superior Court for cy prés, to modify the trust that governs the two institutions to allow mergers with the National Gallery and George Washington University. All told, reports indicate that both sides have made strong presentations of the financial hardship on the one hand, and the possibility that the proposal may not be the only way out of this on the other.